Reclaiming Power and Meaning: A Participatory Intervention Based on the Power Threat Meaning Framework in Addiction Recovery in Greece

Abstract

This study explores a pilot application of the Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF) through a participatory psychoeducational group with individuals in the social reintegration phase of the public addiction recovery program 18ANO in Greece. Grounded in Critical and Liberation Psychology, the intervention aimed to de-pathologize psychological distress and addiction by reframing them as meaningful survival strategies in response to power imbalances, trauma, and systemic exclusion. Over five sessions, participants engaged in reflective dialogue and narrative reconstruction using PTMF’s core dimensions: Power, Threat, Meaning, Threat Responses, and Strengths. The findings highlighted the complex social roots of addiction, including poverty, gendered violence, symbolic invalidation, and familial disconnection, while opening space for counter-narratives of resistance, agency, and care. Although a digital storytelling component was originally envisioned, it was not implemented due to the group’s transitional status. Nevertheless, the process fostered psychosocial empowerment and critical conscientization. The study captures the PTMF’s potential as a liberatory interpretive tool that challenges biomedical reductionism and supports the rehumanization of psychological suffering through community-based, narrative and praxis-oriented approaches.